FRESHWATER FARMING OF BRACKISHWATER SHRIMP, PENAEUS MONODON (FABRICIUS) WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN PURBA MEDINIUR DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

1539

AMERICAN RESEARCH THOUGHTS ISSN: 2392 – 876X Available online at: www.researchthoughts.us

http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1428653

Volume 1 │ Issue 7 │ May 2015

Impact Factor: 2.0178 (UIF)

FRESHWATER FARMING OF BRACKISHWATER

SHRIMP, PENAEUS MONODON (FABRICIUS)

WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN

PURBA MEDINIUR DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Indradeep Chakraborty1, Manojit Bhattacharya2i, Bidhan Chandra Patra1,2,

Utpal Kumar Sar3

1Department of Aquaculture Management & Technology, Vidyasagar University,

Midnapore, West Bengal, India

2Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

3Department of Fisheries, Government of West Bengal, India

Abstract: Brackish water shrimp (Penaeus monodon) farming expanded rapidly after the technical

viability of this culture system was established and farmers discovered that the high profits derived

from shrimp production could easily offset increased costs associated with this culture. These factors

facilitate the spread of brackish water shrimp farming into freshwater agricultural areas of Purba

Medinipur district of West Bengal that never experience salt water intrusion. The emergence of

brackish water shrimp farming within paddy growing regions of Purba Medinipur district has raised

concerns regarding potential environmental impacts and the suitability of conducting this activity

within highly productive freshwater agricultural areas. In the present study an attempt had been

made to farm the black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon in almost freshwater condition with

innovative technologies in 04 earthen tanks each with 0.4 ha water spread area under Contai-III Dev.

Block in Purba Medinipur district in the year 2011 (April to August). The PCR tested P. monodon

seeds (PL15) were stocked in all freshwater earthen tanks after proper acclimatization @

50,000nos/tank. The salinity of the tanks was recorded between 0.0063 ppt to 0.04 ppt. The shrimps

were fed with branded feed and the feeding schedule was based on check-tray method as well as a feed

chart given by the concerned manufacturer. A juice prepared from home-made mixture of sugarcane

jiggery, yeast, rice bran, dolomite, curd and water was used weekly to maintain a healthy

iCorresponding Author:

Manojit Bhattacharya

Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore -721 102, West Bengal, India

E-mail: [email protected]: +91 9434185066. Fax: +91 - 3222 - 275297

http://www.researchthoughts.us/

Indradeep Chakraborty, Manojit Bhattacharya, Bidhan Chandra Patra, Utpal Kumar Sar- FRESHWATER

FARMING OF BRACKISHWATER SHRIMP, PENAEUS MONODON (FABRICIUS) WITH INNOVATIVE

TECHNOLOGIES IN PURBA MEDINIUR DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA

1540 AMERICAN RESEARCH THOUGHTS- Volume 1 │ Issue 7 │2015

environment in the tank as this was a zero water exchange culture system. Shrimps were cultured

until they attained 30 gm. in each tank. A mass mortality was observed in tank 2 after 101 days of

culture due to White spot syndrome virus (WSSV). After final harvest, the survival rate was almost

75% in rest of the tanks and FCR was ranging between 1.84 and 1.89.

Key Words: Penaeus monodon, Freshwater acclimatization, Salinity, Survival & FCR

INTRODUCTION

Inland shrimp farming has shown tremendous development in the last fifteen years due

to constant increase in shrimp demand and limited supply in the world market. As a

result, the shrimp farming is becoming a new lucrative industry for both developed and

developing countries. India is considered as one of the world leaders in shrimp

production and export. With the introduction of new economic policy, whether our

national economy got a boost or has retrograded is a debatable matter but it is no

denying the facts that foreign exchange earnings has been substantiated with the export

of shrimp. The lion’s share quantity of shrimp produced in India find their way in

attractive dazzling covers and exported to USA, Japan, Netherlands and other

European countries. Again, of the total exports of shrimps from India, West Bengal

covers to the tune of 50% alone and among the coastal districts of West Bengal, the

Purba Medinipur district contributes a good share in total cultured shrimp production

now-a-days.

Earlier, the brackish water shrimp farming was traditionally limited to a

relatively narrow band of coastal areas of Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal.

However, few years past, the farmers had discovered that it is both feasible and

profitable to grow black tiger shrimp in areas far away from the coastal land by

trucking saline water inland through delivery pipes and small scale tiger shrimp farms

are now common in traditional fresh water paddy growing areas of this district. But,

such reckless expansion of brackish water shrimp farming in fresh water areas brings

serious conflicts among the paddy cultivators, Government policies and shrimp

farmers. So, this experiment was conducted with an objective to grow the brackish

water shrimp, Penaeus monodon, in fresh water condition in Purba Medinipur district

with innovative technologies to minimize the culture cost.





MATERIALS AND METHODS

a) Site selection, tank preparation, liming & manuring

The experiment was conducted in four freshwater earthen tanks having water spread

area of 0.4 ha each at four villages namely Panichiary (Tank 1 & Tank 3), Uttar Rampur

(Tank 2) and Sukunia (Tank 4) under Contai III Dev. Block in Purba Medinipur district

in the year 2011 (April to August). Initially, the bottom of the tank was desilted (5 cm)

followed by complete drying and cracking in open sunlight to increase the oxidation of

hydrogen sulphide and to eliminate the fish eggs, crab larvae and other unwanted

organisms. Subsequently, the tank bed was ploughed horizontally and vertically (cris-

cross method) to remove the obnoxious gases, oxygenate the bottom soil and to increase

the fertility. The soil pH was recorded with a cone type pH meter and a mixture of lime

(1200 kg/ha) was applied accordingly over the tank bed. The mixture of lime contained

50% CaCO3, 20% CaO and 30% CaMg(CO3)2 – commonly known as dolomite. 50% of

this mixture was applied uniformly over the tank bed and tank dykes. Some extra

amount of CaO was also poured on the corners of the tanks. The tank was then

encircled with 40 mesh size nylon thread with a height of 3// to stop the entry of crabs

or other animals and bird fencing was also done over the tank using monofilament red

colored thread. Tanks were then filled with freshwater up to 50 cm after filtering

through a filter bag (60 mesh size). Before filling, the salinity of the source water was

also measured by a refractometer (Erma - Japan). The remaining 50% of the lime

mixture was applied all over the water body in a diluted form. After three days of

liming, inorganic fertilizers were applied @ 7 kg/ha (Urea: SSP @ 6:1). After 3 days, the

water color turned to light green and the water level was increased by gradual

pumping up to 100 cm in each tank.

Figure 1 (a, b): Freshwater earthen tank for shrimp farming.





b) Acclimatization of shrimp post-larvae to fresh water

Simultaneously, the P. monodon seeds (PL10), already acclimatized with low salinity,

procured from a commercial hatchery in Andhra Pradesh were transported to the

experiment site in oxygenated polyethylene bags (500 nos/bag) at 6 ppt salinity. They

are then stocked in large FRP tanks having saline water of 6 ppt. Continuous aeration

was given throughout the day. From the very next day, the salinity of the FRP tank

water was gradually reduced @ 1 ppt per day by adding freshwater into it. All the

wastes, moulted shells etc. were removed daily from the FRP tanks. The aeration was

continued throughout the day till the acclimatization process is over. The shrimp post

larvae were fed with branded feed four times a day. They were maintained in this

environment until the FRP tank water salinity dropped to 0 ppt. After five days of

application of inorganic manure to the tanks, these acclimatized seeds were released to

each freshwater tank @ 50,000/tank.

c) Feeding & shrimp health monitoring

The shrimps were fed with branded feed and the feeding schedule was based on check-

tray method as well as a feed chart given by the concerned manufacturer. Four check

trays were installed in each tank for monitoring of animal health and feed intake. The

feed ration was divided into 4 times a day i.e. 25%, 20%, 30% and 25% in the morning (6

am), noon (11 am), evening (6 pm) and night (10 pm) respectively. The feed was

broadcasted from the rope method by using floats. The gain in body weight was

observed by collecting shrimps from check trays. Later a cast net was used for collecting

regular samples.

d) Analysis of water & sediment physic-chemical parameters

The periodical analysis of some important physic-chemical parameters of water and

sediment were done every 10 days interval. The water temperature was measured by

using a standard centigrade thermometer. The pH of water was recorded by using

electronic pH pen (Hanna - Japan). The Dissolved oxygen was monitored by using a DO

meter. Salinity was recorded by using a salino-refractometer (Erma - Japan). Free CO2

and total alkalinity were determined as per the methods described in APHA (1995).

Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and Phosphate phosphorus

(PO4-P) were analyzed by the method of Strickland and Parsons (1976). The sediment





pH was measured by a cone shaped soil pH meter and the soil organic carbon was

determined by following the method of Strickland and Parsons (1976).

e) Application of home-made juice

Instead of costly branded probiotics and other medicines, a homemade juice was

applied once in a week. 8 kg of sugarcane jiggery, 20 kg of rice bran, 32 kg of dolomite,

200 gm of yeast powder, 500 gm of curd were mixed thoroughly in an earthen tub and

soaked for 3 days and applied to tank water @ 30 lt/tank to keep the tank environment

at optimum level.

f) Aeration

Besides this, three numbers of paddle wheel aerators of 1HP each were provided per

pond to create water current for the accumulation of wastes in the center of the pond

and to increase the dissolved oxygen in the water column. Aerators were placed 10’

away from the dykes and almost 40 mt. distance from each other. Aeration for 1 hr. was

carried out up to harvest time @ 4 times per day.

g) Harvesting

Harvesting of marketable size was done by using drag net to avoid muddy smell in the

flesh of shrimp. As complete dewatering method was not followed to harvest the

shrimp, the same water was again used for second culture of the crop.

Figure 2 (a, b): Feeding and harvesting of fresh water shrimp





RESULTS

The average of physic-chemical parameters of water and soil of all tanks during

experiment are given in table 1. The average values are calculated using T-Test (One

Sample statistics).

Water quality parameters ↓ Tank 1 Tank 2 Tank 3 Tank 4

Temperature (0C) 31.1 31.27 31.09 31.14

pH 8.04 7.78 7.94 7.97

DO (ppm) 6.4 6.13 6.26 6.23

Total alkalinity (ppm) 187.18 179.81 155.13 166.53

Free CO2 (ppm) 0.16 0.19 0.12 0.13

Salinity (ppt) 0.06 0.1 0.2 0.4

Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) (µg atom NO3 -N/l) 0.09 0.11 0.15 0.09

Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) (µg atom NH3 -N/l) 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.03

Phosphate phosphorus (PO4-P) (µg atom PO4 -P/l) 0.05 0.04 0.14 0.22

Soil quality parameters ↓

pH 6.91 6.79 6.84 6.92

Organic Carbon (%) 0.51 0.6 0.66 0.69

Table 1: Average water & sediment quality parameters in experimental tanks

Parameters ↓ Tank 1 Tank 2 Tank 3 Tank 4

Area of the tank (ha) 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

Stocking date 06/04/11 06/04/11 06/04/11 06/04/11

Stocking density (nos) 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000

Harvesting date 29/08/2011 15/07/2011 22/08/2011 24/08/2011

Avg body weight (gm) 30.1

14.8

(Mass mortality

due to WSSV)

30 30

Survival rate (%) 75 70 74 75

Avg daily growth (gm) 0.2 0.15 0.21 0.21

Days of culture 146 101 139 141

FCR 1 : 1.84 1 : 1.53 1 : 1.89 1 : 1.89

Table 2: Shrimp production details from all tanks are summarized below





DISCUSSION

The black tiger shrimp, P. monodon, is the major species cultured and accounts for 58%

of total shrimp production from farms worldwide (Rosenberry, 1996). It has the fastest

growth rate among a number of penaeid species reared in captivity (Forster and Beard,

1974).

Ideal tank size for shrimp culture is 1 or less than 1 ha (Ramanathan et al., 2005).

Sankoli (1984) suggested that the shrimp culture tanks should be small (0.1 to 0.2 ha) for

effective management, whereas, Ghosh (1984) and Muthu (1980) suggested 1 to 3 ha

pond sizes from the economic point of view as well as for better oxygenation of tank

water. In the present investigation, 04 nos. of tanks having water spread area of 0.4 ha

each were used for culture and 100 cm water level was maintained in all the tanks

throughout the culture period.

The stocking density between 10 – 20 PLs /m2 is ideal for successful shrimp

farms (Ramanathan et al., 2005). In this experiment, seeds were stocked @12.5 / m2.

Venkatesan and Chandra Bose (1982) reported the maximum growth and yield of P

monodon at a stocking density of 25,000 / ha in brackish water ponds.

P. monodon grows better in a temperature range of 24 to 320C (Fast & Lannan,

1992). Water temperature is probably the most important environmental variable as it

directly affects metabolism, oxygen consumption, growth, moulting and survival. The

average temperature in the present study varied between 31.1 to 31.270C among all 04

tanks. Temperature range of 28 to 330C supports normal growth of shrimp (MPEDA,

2006) as observed in the present study. Law (1988) found that pH range of 7.5 to 8.5

would be optimum for culture of shrimp. Highly alkaline (≥9.5) or acidic (≤5.0) waters

are not suitable for culture of P. monodon (Nath, 1998). Ramkrishnareddy (2000)

recommended pH of 7.5 to 8.5 for P. monodon culture. Saha et al. (1999) noticed pH

ranging from 8.11 to 8.67 in low saline tanks. In the present study, average pH was

ranging between 7.78 and 8.04 among all the tanks which were very much conducive

for the growth of shrimp.

Dissolved Oxygen plays an important role to influence the survival of shrimp.

Low level of dissolved oxygen hampers metabolic performances in shrimp, reduce

growth and moulting and cause mortality (Gilles, 2001). During the present trial,

average dissolved oxygen level was always in the acceptable range of 6.13 to 6.4 among

all the tanks.





Total alkalinity ranged between 50 – 114 ppm is desirable for P monodon production

(Chakraborti et al., 1986). Contrary to this, in the present study, average total alkalinity

ranged between 155.13 ppm to 187.18 ppm which is slightly higher than that of

desirable limit as stated by Chakraborti et al., 1986.

Even though P. monodon is an euryhaline species, the range of salinity that

supports normal growth, is between 15 to 30 ppt (Chen, 1985). Karthikeyan (1994)

recommended a salinity range of 10 – 35 ppt was ideal for P. monodon culture. Main and

Wyk (1999) suggested that once the post larvae reach PL 12 to PL14 stage, they can be

acclimatized to fresh water. At this stage, the gills are developing and they can

withstand osmotic stress (Scarpa, 1998). Pantastico (1979) reported a high rate of

survival and growth of P. monodon in freshwater in the Philippines. Raghunath et al.,

(1997) reported the successful culture of P. monodon in rivers, irrigation channels and

ground water in the inland area of Thailand. Rajyalakshmi (1980) observed that higher

salinity (15 – 20 ppt) is conducive for growth of P monodon in Sundarbans. In contrast to

above, Shivappa and Hambrey (1997) recently reported that P monodon is able to

tolerate salinity of less than 5 ppt and many farmers in Thailand are now farming tiger

shrimp successfully in inland areas. In the present study, the average tank water

salinity was varied between 0.06 ppt to 0.04 ppt among all tanks.

In the present experiment, the average NO3-N values varied between 0.09 to 0.15

µg atom NO3 -N/l among all the tanks. The average NH3-N varied between 0.01 to 0.03

µg atom NH3 -N/l. Chin and Chen (1987) studied the acute toxicity of NH3 to larvae of P

monodon (4 days) and recommended a safe level of about 1.15 mg/l NH3 –N for rearing

P. monodon. The average PO4-P values varied between 0.04 to 0.22 µg atom PO4 -P/l.

The average pH values of sediment were ranged between 6.79 to 6.92 and the average

organic carbon values was ranged between 0.51 % and 0.69 %.

Feed is one of the essential inputs in shrimp production and average Indian

cultured food conversion ratios are varying between 1.5 to 1.75 (Paul Raj, 1998). Saha et

al.(1999) observed that the food conversion ratios of 1.31 to 1.58 in low saline ponds and

1.35 to 1.68 in high saline ponds. In the present experiment, high FCR is obtained due to

increase of days of culture and slow growth of farmed species. Shrimps attain 38 gm

when reared for 135 days in brackish water (Giri & Wanganeo, 2007).

In the present study, average 73.5 % survival was recorded at the end of culture

from all the tanks. Krantz and Norris (1975) stated that 60 to 80 % survivals are to be

expected if the shrimp are reared in suitable condition. Giri and Wanganeo (2007) got





85.75 % survival and average body weight of 38 gm when cultured for 135 days in

brackish water.

The survival and growth of P monodon in the present experiment was not up to

the mark compared to brackish water. But, the study explains that shrimps can be

reared satisfactorily in fresh water conditions. This brackish water species may serve as

a viable alternate species in fresh water culture system of Purba Medinipur district.

REFERENCES

1. APHA, 1995. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.

American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.

2. Chakraborti, R.K., D.D.Haldar, N.K.Das, S.K.Mondal and M.L.Bhowmik, 1986.

Growth of Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) under different environmental conditions.

Aquaculture, 51: 189 – 194.

3. Chen, H.C., 1985. Water quality criteria for farming the grass shrimp, Penaeus

monodon. In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Culture of

Penaeid prawns / shrimps. Y. Taki, J.H.Primavera and J.A.Liobrera (Eds.), 165

pp.

4. Chin, T.S. and J.C.Chen, 1987. Acute toxicity of ammonia to larvae of the tiger

prawn, Penaeus monodon. Aquaculture, 68: 247 – 253.

5. Fast, A.W. and Lannan, 1992. Pond dynamic process. pp : 431 – 455. In Fast A.W.

and Lester L.J. (eds), Marine shrimp culture: Principles and Practices, Elsevier

Science Publication, Amsterdam.

6. Forster, J.R.M. and T.W.Beard, 1974. Experiments to assess the suitability of nine

species of prawns for intensive cultivation. Aquaculture, 125: 355 – 368.

7. Ghosh, A., 1984. Summary of lecture and recommendation. Workshop on

brackish water fish farms and small fish landings centers. Bangalore, 12 – 16

June, pp : 2 – 3.

8. Gilles, L.M., 2001. Environmental factors affect immune response and resistance

in crustaceans. The Advocate, 18 pp.

9. Giri, S. and Ashwani Wanganeo, 2007. Enhancement in biomass of Penaeus

monodon under tropical climatic conditions of West Bengal. Fishing Chimes 27(2)

: 51 – 53.





10. Kartikeyan, J., 1994. Aquaculture (Shrimp farming) – Its influence on

environment. Technical paper submitted to the seminar on our environment, its

challenges to development projects, 9 – 10 September, 1994. American Society of

Civil Engineers, Calcutta, India.

11. Krantz, G.C. and J. Norris, 1975. Proceedings of 6th Annual Workshop,

Mariculture Society, Seattle, Washington, 27 – 31 January, pp : 48 – 51.

12. Law, A.T., 1988. Water quality requirement for Penaeus monodon culture. Proc.

Seminar on Marine Prawn Farming in Malayasia. Serdag, Malayasia, Malayasian

fisheries Society, 5th March 1988, p. 53 – 65.

13. Main, K.L. and P.K. Wyk, 1999. In: Farming marine shrimp in recirculating

freshwater systems. Chapter 1: 33 – 37.

14. MPEDA, 2006. Media campaign on “Welfare schemes of Central Government”

Gopichettipalayam on 27 & 28 of January.

15. Muthu, M.S., 1980. Site selection and type of farms for coastal aquaculture of

prawns. Proc. Symp. Shrimp farming. Bombay, 16 – 18 August, 1978. MPEDA.

16. Nath, D., 1998. Role of physico – chemical factors in boosting prawn production

from estuarine wetlands. In Utpal Bhowmik (ed.) Prawn farming, Bulletin no. 81,

CIFRI, Barrackpore, West Bengal, India.

17. Pantistico, J.B., 1979. Research paper presented at the Technical Consultation on

Available Aquaculture Technology in the Philippines, 8 – 10 February, 1979. 5

pp. South East Asian fisheries Development Centre, aquaculture Department,

Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines.

18. Paul Raj, B.B., 1998. Ecofriendly feed and management system for sustainable

shrimp culture. Fisheries World, pp : 13 – 17.

19. Ramanathan, N., P. Padmavathy, T. Francis, S. Athithian and N. Selvaranjitham,

2005. Manual on polyculture of tiger shrimp and carps in fresh water. Fisheries

College and Research Institute, TANUVAS, Thothukudi, pp : 1 – 161.

20. Raghunath, B, R.B. Shivappa and J.B.Hambrey, 1997. Tiger shrimp culture in

freshwater. INFOFISH Internationa, l 4/97: 26 – 32.

21. Rajyalakshmi, T., 1980. Manual on brackish water aquaculture, India. Cent.

Inland Res. Inst. Bulletin. 31: 1 – 126.

22. Ramkrishnareddy, 2000. Culture of the tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Fabricius)

in low saline waters. M.Sc. dissertation, Annamalai University, pp : 31.





23. Rosenberry, B., (Ed.) 1996. World Shrimp Farming Annual Report. Shrimp News

International, San Diego, USA.

24. Saha, S.B., C. Bhattacharya and A. Choudhury, 1999. Preliminary observations on

culture of Penaeus monodon in low saline waters. Naga, ICLARM Quarterly 22(1) :

30 – 33.

25. Sankoli, K.N., 1984. Biological aspects of prawn and fish behavior. Workshop on

brackish water fish farms and small fish landings centres. Bangalore, 12 – 16

June.

26. Scarpa, J., 1998. Freshwater recirculating systems in Florida. In: Moss, S.M. (Ed.).

Proceedings of the U.S. Marine Shrimp Farming Program Biosecurity Workshop,

February 14, 1998, The Oceanic Institute, 67 – 70.

27. Shivappa, R.B. and J.B.hambrey, 1997. Tiger shrimp culture in freshwater.

Infofish International, 4/97: 32 – 36.

28. Strickland, J.D.H. and T.R.Parsons, 1976. A Practical Hand Book of Sea Water

Analysis. Second edn.

29. Venkatesan, V. and V. Chandra Bose, 1982. Observations on the culture of tiger

prawn Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) in brackish water ponds. Proc. Symp. Coastal

Aquaculture. 146 – 150.

30. Strickland, J.D.H. and T.R.Parsons, 1976. A Practical Hand Book of Sea Water

Analysis. Second edn.

31. Venkatesan, V. and V. Chandra Bose, 1982. Observations on the culture of tiger

prawn Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) in brackish water ponds. Proc. Symp. Coastal

Aquaculture. 146 – 150.

Education

FRESHWATER FARMING OF BRACKISHWATER SHRIMP, PENAEUS MONODON (FABRICIUS) WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN PURBA MEDINIUR DISTRICT OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA